Wichita school board OKs varsity letters for special-needs students in Tri-County league

The Wichita school board on Monday approved new guidelines that direct schools to award regular varsity letters to students who participate on special-needs sports teams.

The board voted 6-0, with member Joy Eakins absent, to accept a new handbook crafted by the Tri-County Athletic League, a league for students with special needs with teams at 11 area high schools. The six-page handbook includes criteria for earning an athletic letter.

To be considered for a letter, students on Tri-County teams must participate for two seasons, participate in at least 70 percent of practices and games, demonstrate good sportsmanship, give consistent effort, exhibit respect and finish the season in good standing academically.

Letters will be awarded beginning this school year, said Bryan Wilson, coordinator of the league.

Jolinda Kelley, a Wichita mother who launched the campaign to award varsity letters to special-needs athletes, told board members Monday she was “thankful for being heard.”

Michael Kelley, a student at Wichita East High School, attracted national attention after his mother said he was told last year that he should not wear a jacket bearing a varsity letter she had purchased. District officials have maintained that no one asked the student to remove his jacket.

“I apologize that it had to come to this. We tried to go through all the regular channels,” Jolinda Kelley said Monday.

“Everybody is looking at my child as the poster child for this, but it’s not about him. It’s not about one jacket,” she said. “It’s about an entire nation making a change. Because we can say inclusion, but is it truly inclusion? Are we truly giving them what they earn?”

Michael Kelley sat alongside his parents in the audience at Wichita North High School. He and his family members wore black T-shirts emblazoned with “#givethemletters,” a social media hashtag that has been associated with their campaign.

“I do want you to think about that word ‘earn,’ because that’s come out in the media a lot. … Do these students really earn it, or are we just giving it to them?” Jolinda Kelley said.

She said her son and other special-needs athletes deserve letters because they demonstrate persistence, exhibit teamwork and overcome adversity.

“My shirt says, ‘Give them letters,’ ” she said. “I’m asking for you to give them the letters that they’ve earned.”

Karen Bainter, the newly named president of the Tri-County league, said writing the league’s handbook took longer than the board initially thought. Tri-County athletes who met the lettering criteria this school year will receive letters in coming weeks, she said.

Tonda McGrath urged board members to approve the new guidelines, but added, “I’m angry, basically. … This has been quite a bureaucratic mess.

“The school should encourage their employees, from the top to the bottom, to answer parents’ inquiries in a timely and respectful and informed manner,” she said. “Had this happened when we first started e-mailing and calling … we would not be here today.”

Marty Rothwell, an official with the Arc of Sedgwick County, thanked district officials for supporting the Tri-County league, which gives students with intellectual and developmental disabilities a way to practice, compete and represent their schools.

“We could not find another school district that does this,” he said. “So we are here today to thank you, because without this league, we wouldn’t have a letter issue.

“When we ask the parents, they all say the same thing: This is our kids’ chance to shine, and it’s all because of USD 259 and your dedication to all students.”

Bleak budget outlook

Jim Freeman, the district’s chief financial officer, told board members Monday that he expects about $21 million of increased costs next year – not including any salary increases – and $4.8 million less revenue from the state.

“Told you it was scary,” he said.

Freeman said he directed department heads to submit budgets with 10 percent reductions in nonpersonnel areas, which could generate about $6.5 million in savings.

To make up the difference, Freeman said, the board could consider several options: raising taxes, reducing personnel through attrition, postponing new textbook adoptions and adding a one-time, one-year special assessment levy to cover costs on a new Southeast High School.

In addition, the district could once again tap into its contingency reserve fund to delay some cuts for another year.

“But next year is not going to be any better,” Freeman said.

Other business

Board members approved a $1.35 million addition to Coleman Middle School – new classrooms and tech labs that will be hardened into a Federal Emergency Management Agency-approved storm shelter.

They began their meeting by recognizing about 115 high school seniors who received more than $18 million in college scholarships – about $4 million more than last year’s graduating class. The board recognized students with scholarships of $40,000 or more or those who were among the top 10 scholarship recipients from their schools.

Of Wichita’s 3,649 graduates, about 850 have scholarship offers, said Bill Faflick, assistant superintendent for secondary schools.

“You have before you some of the best and brightest graduates of Wichita public schools,” Faflick said. “This is not a high school accomplishment. This is a K-12, district success.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 7:53 PM with the headline "Wichita school board OKs varsity letters for special-needs students in Tri-County league."